


Call Me (Maybe?)

by etux



Series: ShrunkyClunks [2]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe, And then some more fluff, Cap Steve Rogers/Modern Bucky Barnes | Shrunkyclunks, Everything is Beautiful and Nothing Hurts, First Dates, Fluff, Humor, M/M, POV Bucky Barnes, bc bucky likes to think he's funny
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-07
Updated: 2016-05-07
Packaged: 2018-06-06 22:46:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,860
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6773383
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/etux/pseuds/etux
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><i>“Hey,” Steve protests, and he’s smiling again now. “I like </i>Little Mermaid<i>!”</i></p><p>  <i>“And so do I.” Bucky grins, lifting Steve’s hand and pressing a gentle kiss on the back of it. “But I’m willing to bet Captain America doesn’t.”</i></p><p><i>“Yeah, he’s probably more of an </i>Iron Giant<i> type of guy.”</i></p><p> </p><p>Bucky discovers that first dates with national heroes aren't all that nerve-wracking, if the national hero in question is a huge dork who quotes Disney movies over lunch and is willing to marathon High School Musicals on the second date. Yeah, you heard right. <i>The second date.</i> There will be one.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Call Me (Maybe?)

**Author's Note:**

> ...one minute I was writing my Stucky Big Bang fic  & then suddenly I had this thing on my laptop screen. I would say I'm sorry, but I'm really not. Plus this is what you wanted. Right?
> 
> Takes place hour and a half after [Not-quite-a-date](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6747661), and even though I'm pretty sure this can be read on it's own, you should probably read that first. It won't take long & things will make more sense. Plus there's Sam Wilson, and Sam Wilson is freaking awesome. That is a fact.

Bucky is hour and a half into his date with Steve when he realizes he has no idea how to repay his almost-brother. Because he really, _really_ has to repay Sam.

This date - the early lunch and then ice cream and a walk in a park - is the best first date Bucky has been on for ages. Hell, it might very well be the best date he’s _ever_ been on.

(Not that he’s been on that many dates. All his dating happened before Riley’s death for reasons his therapist has more than once scolded him about. Bucky was out in high school and had a boyfriend or two, but that’s about it. He joined the army with Riley right after graduation, and even after the repeal of DADT… Well, not everyone could be Riley and Sam and just date their wingman, could they?) 

“What got you that deep in your thoughts?”

Bucky turns to look at Steve and smiles in slight embarrassment for having accidentally ignored his date. “Just the fact that I’m never going to be able to set Sam on even half as good date as this has been,” he says. “Plus he’s going to say ‘I told you so’ _so_ many times.”

“Oh, yeah, he told me it took some convincing before you agreed to this,” Steve nods.

“Yeah,” Bucky snorts. “That’s the understatement of the year. Took some _blackmailing_ more like it.”

“Sam? Blackmailing? I don’t believe you,” Steve teases, acting like he doesn’t know what a little _shit_ Sam Wilson can be. Bucky’s almost-brother might be a real saviour and miracle-maker and a gift from above and the biggest saint on earth, but he’s also the biggest fucking asshole when he wants to be, and everybody who hangs with him outside his work hours damn well knows it. So Bucky punches Steve on the arm. Lighty.

(Super soldier or not, violence is not good first date etiquette. It’s only appropriate in a safe, consensual situation that’s been negotiated beforehand and _woah_ he is getting wildly off-topic here. No need to think about _these_ things on a first date. All in time, Barnes, all in time.)

“Why were you so opposed to the idea, though, if you don’t mind me asking?” Steve asks, his brows furrowing slightly, like he’s worried about something. “Sam said you haven’t dated in a while - and that’s fine! I haven’t either, if you can believe me - and I know about your brother, but I couldn’t help but wonder… Was part of it me? Or, you know, the Captain America thing?”

Work, military history, teenage crushes on Starks, meeting the family, politics, and art. There isn’t much they haven’t already discussed on this date.

So Bucky swallows the polite but untruthful _‘Of course not’_ that’s already on his lips.

“Yeah,” he says instead, wanting to cherish the honest and _real_ conversation they’ve got going on. “Most of it _was_ Riley, but yeah, the whole Cap thing was a part of it too.”

“Why?”

“For a couple of reasons,” Bucky says and reaches to take Steve’s hand in his. He wants Steve to understand that even though he was nervous before, he isn’t anymore. That Steve has already shown that his doubts were needless. “One was the fact that you aren’t out. I was kinda scared that Sam might’ve read you wrong. I mean, don’t get me wrong, he’s a great sense of character but- There’s been couple of times when his gaydar - or bidar - has been more than just a bit off. Nasty occasions.”

“And the other reasons?” Steve prompts, looking thoughtful but not offended or hurt. Bucky smiles and squeezes his hand.

“Well, I was also sure I was going to get starstruck and make a fool of myself in front of a national hero,” Bucky says and grins at Steve. “Who would’ve known he’s even a bigger dork than I am?”

“Sam,” Steve says, confident. “Sam would’ve known.”

Bucky snorts. “Yeah, probably. Well, anyway. I think I was also intimidated by this image I had of you, you know? Like, I’ve read about you in school, watched the old propaganda films, the newsreels, _everything_. I must’ve written at least three papers on you in high school. I didn’t want to go on a _date_ with that dude. I didn’t want to-”

“-go on a date with Captain America.” Steve nods, and he looks like he understands this. Like he’s thought about this himself.

“Well, yeah, no. I didn’t. _But_ ,” Bucky holds Steve’s gaze with his own, because he _needs_ to Steve understand this as well. “That’s okay. Because I _didn’t_ go on a date with Captain America. I went on a date with Steve Rogers, the dork who quoted Disney movies over an impromptu early dinner.”

“Hey,” Steve protests, and he’s smiling again now. “I like _Little Mermaid_!”

“And so do I.” Bucky grins, lifting Steve’s hand and pressing a gentle kiss on the back of it. “But I’m willing to bet Captain America doesn’t.”

“Yeah, he’s probably more of an _Iron Giant_ type of guy.”

Bucky - extremely smoothly, thank you very much - steps closer to Steve so that their sides are brushing as they walk hand in hand. He sighs contently. “Damn I love that movie. Always bawl my eyes out though.”

Steve chuckles as he lets go of Bucky’s hand and wraps arm around Bucky’s waist instead. It might’ve been too soon for Bucky if this was anyone else - but this is Steve. The man who didn’t freak him out when he talked about Bucky meeting his 21st century family within fifteen minutes of them introducing themselves to each other. So walking this close to Steve isn’t awkward or uncomfortable, it’s nice and somehow despite being new, it feels familiar. Like they were meant to be like this - side by side, Steve on the right and Bucky on the left.

(Okay, so Bucky’s a bit of a hopeless romantic - sue him. It’s not like only heartless people don’t cry during _Titanic_. Or _Lion King_. Or _High School Musical 3_. Looking at you, Sam. Don’t you have _a soul_? They are graduating and nothing’s going to be the same ever again, it’s the end of an era, a bitter farewell to _your own_ high school memories, a - - a huge distraction, apparently. _Damn_ , Barnes. You might want to do something about this thoughts-totally-running-into-unnecessary-directions-while-on-a-date thing. _It_ ’s probably not good etiquette.)

“Have you seen _High School Musical_ movies?” Bucky asks when they reach the end of the park. It’s clear that this date is coming to it’s end as well, and he’s desperate for new plans. He _needs_ to see Steve again soon. There’s no way Bucky is letting this one go.

“...no?” Steve says after thinking for a minute.

“Good.” Bucky smiles, slipping his right hand in the back pocket of Steve’s jeans. Steve raises his eyebrows, but he doesn’t say anything and keeps smiling, so Bucky doesn’t take his hand back. “We have to marathon them. This weekend. You, me, three movies, and a shit ton of ice cream.”

“Bucky, today’s Saturday.”

“So?” Bucky shrugs. “Is tomorrow alright with you?”

“Yeah, yeah it is,” Steve says slowly, looking happy but a bit confused. “I thought there was some weird 21st century rule about waiting three days.”

“Fucking _How I Met Your Mother_ ,” Bucky laughs, shaking his head. “And it’s about waiting three days before _calling_. Nobody said anything about asking to watch the best musicals of our time _in person_. Roughly two hours after meeting for the first time.”

“Two hours…” Steve repeats. “Jesus.”

“Yeah, it doesn’t feel that short for me either.”

Steve shakes his head, big smile on his face. “It really doesn’t,” he admits. “So. Waiting for three days is a thing, it just has a loophole for your silly musicals. What about waiting for a signal? Should I do that, or can I just kiss you now that this date is pretty much over and we should both head home to text Sam, who’s probably _dying_ for an update on how we’re doing?”

“The show specifically said there’s _no such thing as signal_ ,” Bucky says before grinning and leaning closer to Steve to whisper in his ear: “Besides, I have a hand on your ass. I thought the signal couldn’t get any clearer.”

Steve answers by kissing Bucky in a way that’s probably a bit too dirty for a first date, but who the fuck cares. The kiss is _awesome_ and Bucky is so, so sad that he has a yoga class tonight, and can’t just _drag_ Steve home with him.

“Give me your phone,” Bucky says when he pulls away from the kiss to get some air. Apparently Steve, being the freaking super soldier he is, can hold his breath a lot longer than him.

“Huh?” Steve seems pretty out of it, and Bucky smirks. It feels good to know he can have that kind of effect on someone. On _Steve_.

“So I can put my number in?” Bucky clarifies. “So you can text me and then I can text you, and then you can see me tomorrow and we can continue this thing, because no matter how much I’d love to get the inappropriate PDA thing going on in this park _right now_ , I gotta run to my yoga class, and-- Jesus, I’m rambling again. Just give me the phone. _Please._ ”

Steve fishes his phone - a brand new StarkPhone, Bucky notices, _nice_ \- out of his pocket and hands it to Bucky, who just swipes it open.

 _No lock screen?_ Bucky wonders to himself. _Trusting idiot._

But then again, maybe there’s not so many people who will steal Captain America’s phone and do dumb shit like change background images and contact names.

...Bucky is _so_ going to take advantage of that some day.

Not now though, now he just puts his number under the name ‘Bucky’ and then grins at Steve when a realization hits him. “ _Hey_.”

Steve’s face is one big question mark. “What?”

“I just met you, and this is crazy,” Bucky says, wiggling his eyebrows at Steve when he hands him back his phone. “But here’s my number, so call me maybe?”

“What?” Steve repeats, and Bucky’s face falls.

“ _I threw a wish in the well, don’t ask me I’ll never tell_? Nothing? Really?” Bucky feels betrayed. Steve slowly shakes his head. “Damn. I’m so sending you a link to that song _today_. You have to listen to it. It’s like my _anthem_. Hey! It could even be our song!”

“Sure,” Steve agrees with a smile and shrug, and that’s all the confirmation Bucky needs to know that Steve really hasn’t heard the song.

It really, _really_ has to be their song now. There’s just no way around it. It’s fucking _fate_ , alright?

 

(When Bucky gets home from his yoga class that night, he has a text from Steve waiting for him.

 _I missed you so so bad before you came into my life_ , it says, and Bucky grins at how dorky and cheesy and stupid and really fucking _adorable_ it is.

 _At first sight and it's real_ , he texts back.)


End file.
